I can tell you that as you get older, your friends from the past take on real importance. These are people who’ve known you forever. Let me give you an example of one person who has played a crucial role in my life: my old friend Joe Browdy. I first met Joe at Bronx House Camps where he worked with his wife, Sue, the superb arts and crafts counselor. Joe had gone to Oberlin College and NYU Law School where he graduated at the very top of his class. I always liked the guy because he was serious, a part of his character which has stayed with him. I also thought it was quite prestigious to know someone like him.
Joe is bright, very bright. When you are at or near the top of your class at schools like Oberlin or NYU law school, you really do have to be extremely bright. But what really impressed me about Joe was the fact that he was a fine guitar player, knew all the Weavers songs and even more importantly, knew all the words which many of the people I hung around with didn’t.
I loved being with Joe and Sue at the camp. One reason was that Joe’s parents owned a rather primitive cabin in nearby Hillsdale, New York, which the Browdys could use. They would invite me over and cook steaks and feed me. They didn’t have to do that. I have never forgotten those meals and their kindness. Of such memories are the closest of friendships made and kept.
Years later, Joe was an attorney at a very prestigious law firm in New York. He was now on the board of directors of Bronx House Camps and he successfully nominated me to join him on the board. We would go to the meetings of that somewhat elderly and well-heeled group (not me), and after the meetings, Joe would drop me off and then go back to his desk at his law firm and work late into the night. The guy didn’t fool around. He was all about work except for a hiatus during which he served in the army.
As for his job, he did it the old-fashioned way. He put his head down and he just worked. It was amazing to see the left-wing folk singer working his way up to the top of one of the biggest law firms in New York. It didn’t surprise me when he made partner there, specializing in real estate and selling some of the most famous buildings in New York. One of the things I appreciated the most about Joe was the fact that as he grew more and more important, we remained friends. I mean, after all, I went to Hunter College, and while it is true I got to be full professor at different institutions, he never seemed to look down on me.
One of the things I am proudest of is the time when I used to produce folk concerts at the smaller venues at Carnegie Hall and at the rather large Hunter College auditorium, I could always count on Joe to perform at some of these offerings.
Now we are both in our eighties. He’s a couple of years older, but when I started the Legislative Gazette newspaper, he became an advisor, and when I assumed the leadership role at WAMC public radio with outlets over much of the northeast, Joe became Chairman of that board.
None of this means that here haven’t been moments of tension between us, but all of that disappears when I look back on what this partnership has been like. In fact, I am sure that as you read this, you can think of all those people without whom you would not be where you are. Joe Browdy has been that for me and as I get older, I wanted to write it down.
